ThatKIrcguy
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Breathe Chapter 40: Troubles in Argus
🕑 Added 2024-12-23 05:26:55 +0000 UTCTraveling back to Argus had been a fairly relaxed affair thanks, mainly to Weiss who had ensured that no one had been left behind or forgotten. The workers had safely boarded the Bullheads, all luggage had been accounted for and the camp had been triple checked just in case we were missing something.
Everything had gone smoothly… The closest we came to something going wrong was part way in our trip when we came across a herd of Griffon Grimm and had to alter our path in order to avoid them. Other than that… It had been quiet.
Well… As quiet as a Bullhead could be with Yang who had taken to telling puns, messing with Weiss and asking about Argus. Speaking of…
“So Argus is really close to the sea, right?” Yang asked, her face stretching into a large smile. “Do you guys have an aquarium there?”
“I believe that we do have one, yes,” Pyrrha answered. “It’s been a few years since I went to it, myself, but it should still be around. We could visit it sometime if you like.”
“No thanks,” Yang grinned. “I would go, but I just find them a little fishy.”
I snickered silently. As far as puns went, that was one of Yang’s better ones… It certainly beat the one about why vampires avoided snowmen… They were afraid of getting frostbite.
Pyrrha smiled stiffly at the pun, while Weiss let out a loud groan, slumping in her seat. Winter on the other hand hadn’t paid Yang any attention since her first pun, opting to focus her entire attention on her breathing instead and it appeared that she was making steady progress.
“Just kill me already,” Weiss muttered under her breath. “I don’t think I can take much more of this.”
“Aw, you don’t like my puns?” Yang asked, still appearing amused. “I’m just trying to break the Weiss.”
Weiss’s eye began to twitch.
“You’re pretty quiet over there… I was just trying to make sure that you didn’t feel Weiss-olated.”
“That does it!” Weiss roared as she ripped her seatbelt off before standing up. “I’ve had it up to here with you and your puns. Do you even realize how long we’ve been, GAH!”
The Bullhead took a sharp turn, sending Weiss flying. Barreling across the cabin, she collided with Yang who grabbed a hold of her, keeping Weiss from being thrown around by the sudden turbulence.
Winter glanced at her youngest sister, checking that she wasn’t actually hurt, before going back to her practice. Opting to leave her to the mess she got herself in.
“I’ve got you,” Yang said, holding arms wrapped around Weiss who was splayed out horizontally on Yang’s lap. “It’s Weiss to see you over here.”
“Do you have to keep making puns?!” Weiss all but yelled, kicking her legs as she struggled in Yang’s grasp. “Can you keep your mouth shut for five minutes?!”
“Um, Weiss,” Yang began. “You might want to check your…”
“No,” Weiss interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it. All I’m asking for is five minutes of silence, if you can’t do that, the… Then… I don’t know what.”
Blinking, an amused look crossed Yang’s face before she silently nodded, opting to let things play out instead of warning the youngest Schnee sister.
“Um…” I hummed, unsure of how I should word this. Keeping my eyes shut, I continued. “Weiss… Maybe you should sit up.”
“I will once the Bullhead stops sh…” Weiss froze as she glanced behind her before looking up to Yang who shrugged and mimed having her mouth zipped. Weiss’s face turned bright red as she readjusted her skirt, ensuring that she was no longer mooning anyone. “Yang… Please put me down.”
Nodding, the blonde released her, helping her stand back up. Brushing her skirt down, Weiss took a step towards her seat, only to stumble to the side as the Bullhead shuddered once more.
Reaching out, I grabbed a hold of her arm and tugged her towards me, setting her down on the side of my seat with my arm wrapped around her stomach as the turbulence momentarily worsened.
“Why is it only me?!” Weiss cried out, currently more frustrated than embarrassed.
“Murphy’s law,” I shrugged. If anything can go wrong, it will, especially at the worst moment and it just so happened that Weiss made for an easy target. “Why don’t you sit over here instead… At least for now?”
Her face still flushed red, Weiss nodded and shifted into the seat next to me, strapping herself in. “You saw…” She muttered softly, ducking her head down in embarrassment.
“And I closed my eyes immediately,” I reassured her. While I wasn’t as close with Weiss as I was with Pyrrha, I did still consider her a friend and the last thing I wanted was to make things awkward between us.
“At least I was able to keep some dignity,” Weiss grumbled quietly, going unheard to everyone but those with enhanced senses… Namely, me. “Thank you,” She nodded.
“No worries,” I hummed. We had been traveling for a few hours now and Weiss was forced to endure Yang’s puns and goading. Slipping up here and there was to be expected. Feeling the Bullhead shudder once more, I glanced out the window only to see that we were descending. “Huh… Looks like we’re here.”
“We are!” Weiss repeated, happy to be back in civilization, before realization dawned on her and she let out a pained groan. If she’d just sat in her chair for five minutes longer, she could have avoided all of this.
Watching as we flew over Argus, I raised an eyebrow when we passed the regular landing zone for commercial Bullheads and instead headed towards the military base situated on a small landmass, connected to the coastal city by a suspension bridge.
“This doesn’t seem quite right,” I hummed as the Bullhead landed. Clipping my belt off, I moved to stand at the back end of the Bullhead.
A somewhat salty breeze blew in as the Bullheads ramp lowered, revealing the outside world. Unfortunately, the scenery was ruined as a squad of Atlesian soldiers stood with their weapons at the ready.
“Slowly exit the Bullhead and prepare to be searched,” One of the soldiers standing at the head of the platoon announced. Spotting the sword strapped to my side, he continued “Be ready to hand over any weapon that you may have on your person.”
Yeah, that wasn’t happening.
“What’s going on here?” I pressed, stepping down the ramp.
“I will repeat, hand over any weapon that you may have on your person,” The soldier repeated stiffly, ignoring my question.
Right, this was going nowhere fast. Reaching into my pocket in order to show them my Huntsman license, the soldiers snapped into motion and I suddenly found several guns aimed my way.
“Stand down!” Winter called out, stepping down the ramp, she held her Scroll out, revealing her status as an Atlesian Specialist. “That’s an order!”
Examining Winter’s license, the head soldier offered a quick salute and turned to order his soldiers to stand down.
“So…” I trailed off, revealing my own license. “Do you think you can tell us what’s going on here now?”
Glancing towards Winter, the head soldier nodded. “Under Special Operative Caroline Cordovin’s command, we’ve been ordered to detain anyone returning from the new Schnee mining operation,” He explained. “I apologize for the jumpiness of my men, sir. There have been a few reports of others trying to use your identity in order to escape legal repercussions only for their true identities to be discovered later. And… None of us were ever expecting to meet the real you.”
They knew about the new mine? That was odd, Jacques had wanted to keep it quiet… At least until after it was up and running, and there was no way he would want others to hear about how it had failed, meaning that someone had leaked it.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing that was worrisome. Apparently, others were impersonating me in order to get away with their crimes. I’d been reclusive and avoided the media, which gave others an easier time when it came to using my identity… Suddenly I was perfectly happy with the military’s reactions. In fact, I might need to ask them to fire a warning shot at the leg next time.
Watching as the other Bullheads were being searched, I sighed. I understood why the soldiers were doing this… They were ordered. What I didn’t understand was why it was necessary.
“Special Operative Cordovin ordered us to escort any person or persons of interest to the military base in order to meet with her,” The head soldier added.
It went unsaid, But both Winter and I were fairly important in the scheme of things, so we had the power to refuse Cordovin’s order.
Not that we would do that. Cordovin seemed to be overstepping by forcefully searching incoming Bullheads and I wanted to know why.
Gesturing for Pyrrha, Weiss and Yang to follow, I turned towards the head soldier. “Lead the way.”
…Breathe…
Entering Cordovin’s office after Winter, I barely made it in before the door was closed behind me. The woman in question was nowhere to be seen. The room was… Interesting… Actually, it was a little creepy.
Unlike the majority of the base which was fairly spartan, favoring functionality over appearance, Cordovin’s office was filled with framed pictures and paintings depicting the Atlesian army, their homeland and even a framed portrait of General Ironwood watching over Atlas with a pensive look on his face.
Cordovin was extremely proud of her Kingdom and army… It was almost bordering on zealotry territory... Not that it surprised me. With everything in her office, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had a autographed picture of a shirtless Ironwood… It was probably better if I didn’t snoop through her desk.
“It appears as though we might be waiting here for a while,” Winter noted, not paying the office’s posters any mind. “Since we have a moment alone, would it be alright if I spoke frankly with you?”
“You really don’t need to ask that at this point, Winter,” I hummed.
Staring at me with a look that almost mimicked the portrait of Ironwood, Winter nodded.. “I wanted to thank you the other day for looking after Weiss when the drill collapsed.”
That’s what she wanted to talk about?
“You really don’t need to thank me for that,” I replied.
“I disagree,” Winter argued. “Weiss is my sister and… Seeing her falling into that hole with the drill following after her was the single most terrifying moment of my life. If she had died… I don’t know what I would have done.” Stepping towards me, she hesitated for a moment, before pulling me into a hug. “Thank you for saving my sister and being there for her when I couldn’t.”
“You’re… Welcome,” I said, patting her on the back.
We stood quietly for a few moments, before Winter finally pulled back, her form a little more relaxed, her usual stoic look fading, being replaced by a small, visible smile.
“I’m still not entirely sure why you chose me out of all the Ace-Ops, but I am grateful for it.”
It was a little odd seeing this gentler… More genuine side of Winter that wasn’t weighed down by her sense of duty, but it was far from unwelcome. After all the time I’d spent with her, it felt like she was finally opening up.
Hearing the door click open, we both turned to see Cordovin entering her office. The door clicked shut behind her once she was fully inside the room.
“Specialist Schnee and mister Calavera,” Cordovin greeted. moving past us, she stepped around her desk and seated herself. “I apologize for the late arrival, but you’ll be happy to know that the Bullheads have been searched and nothing was found on any of them.”
Glancing at Winter who appeared just as lost as me, I turned back to Cordovin. “You’re going to have to start over. What were you looking for… Actually, why was any of this necessary?”
“Why was it necessary?” Cordovin looked stumped. “To catch anyone that was involved with vandalizing the SDC’s drill of course. Would you rather we just let those responsible for such criminal acts roam free?”
“I believe that there has been a misunderstanding,” Winter interjected, slipping back into professional mask. “You mentioned that someone was responsible for what occurred at the SDC’s new site, but we were both present there and as far as we know, the drill simply malfunctioned.”
Shooting us an odd look, Cordovin placed her Scroll on the table, projecting an image of several people being arrested. “Yesterday, it was discovered that the Colliery mining company was involved in a plot to sabotage the SDC’s new mine. I’m unsure as to how you were unaware of that, the news has been broadcasting it nonstop. Only a complete dunderhead wouldn’t be aware of it.”
You know, as strange as it was to not have Maria by my side to help me out. I was really glad that she wasn’t here now, because if she was, she would probably have gotten herself arrested for assaulting a… In what I would imagine her words would be, ‘smug Atlesian official.’ Especially since it was Cordovin.
“We haven’t exactly had the best connection to the CCT,” I replied.
“Yes, I’m starting to realize that now,” Cordovin idly noted. “However, that is not the reason for why I called you here. A recent… Opportunity has presented itself to us… One which would enable us to show Remnant the true glory of Atlas and I would like to invite the two of you to be front row witnesses.”
Okay, I was getting vaguely cult-like vibes from Cordovin now. It almost sounded like she was planning to invade Argus.
Swiping her hand across the projection, a new image was displayed, immediately clearing up any misconceptions for what Cordovin’s glorious plan was… Although, it didn’t exactly make her seem any less crazy.
“In less than two days from now, a Leviathan Grimm will arrive at Argus, only to be struck down by the full might of the Atlesian Military,” Cordovin announced proudly.
Leviathan Grimm were the strongest and largest species of Grimm that existed that was technically capable of being killed, although it generally took an entire army to do so and even then it was with a massive amount of casualties.
They were ranked just below Ancient Grimm in terms of power and destructiveness, and even created the Leviathan classification which all Grimm of such size fell under.
The only way that Cordovin would be capable of killing a Leviathan Grimm would be if she had that giant mech... The only problem was, I wasn’t sure if it existed yet.
“Is General Ironwood aware of this?” Winter asked suddenly.
“I have informed him,” Cordovin confirmed. “He has given me permission to use everything at my disposal in order to protect Argus,” She said smugly.
When it came to Grimm, James had a habit of overestimating them which often led to a disproportionately overkill attack. The fact that he’s let Cordovin use every resource the Argus military base has to offer means that he believes they have the necessary tools to kill the Leviathan Grimm… That or he was aware that I would be in the area.
Either way, it looked like I was going to be sticking around. Someone would have to defend Argus if Cordovin failed.
…Breathe…
“This is it,” Pyrrha announced, unlocking the door to her home. “My mom generally only comes in later, so we should have the house to ourselves for now.”
“Finally,” Yang breathed, following Pyrrha into the house, tiredly dropping several sets of bags on the floor. “You’d think that, after keeping us at their base for several hours, the Atlesian military would at least help us move our baggage… The Vale police department would treat you better than this.”
“Somehow, the fact that you know that doesn’t surprise me,” Weiss muttered, stepping past the blonde. Lifting her arm, she sniffed her sleeve, before sighing. “Pyrrha, would it be possible for me to use your bathroom? Being tossed around a Bullhead and then stuck in a waiting room without air conditioning hasn’t done me any favors.”
“That would be alright,” Pyrrha nodded. “It’s upstairs, second door on the right. Could I get you anything for when you’re done?”
“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Weiss said, looking a little uncertain. “But… A cup of coffee would be great.”
Pyrrha smiled kindly. “It’s no trouble at all. I’ll make you one once you’re done with your shower. Would the rest of you like something as well?”
“I mean… If you’re making,” Yang hummed. “I wouldn’t say no to a cup of coffee.”
Getting the rest of our requests, Pyrrha headed towards the kitchen, refusing our help as we were ‘guests.’
While not anywhere near as massive as the Schnee mansion which was honestly a little too large, Pyrrha’s home still had more than enough room for us, being quite a bit larger than the apartment that Maria rented during our first stay in Argus.
Finding the lounge, I relaxed into one of the couches set up in the lounge while Yang plonked down in the chair opposite me. Relieved to have something comfortable to sit down on after spending a day in what amounted to an uncomfortable waiting room.
“What a day, am I right?” Yang said, glancing over at Winter before whistling when she caught sight of Pyrrha carrying a tray. “Damn, Pyr, you work fast.”
“Well… Let’s just say that my Semblance did come in handy,” Pyrrha explained, placing the tray on the coffee table in the center of the chairs.
A few moments passed as we enjoyed the coffee. Although the day had been fairly long, it seemed that the evening wasn’t going to be anywhere near as busy.
“So, since Weiss is upstairs showering, I’ve gotta ask,” Yang began, staring directly at me while she took a sip from her cup. “Are you immortal?”
I blinked at that. What? It seemed that both Pyrrha and Winter were just as caught off guard as I was with that.
“Um… No?” I replied, unsure of what to make from Yang’s question. “What made you think that I was?”
Yang shrugged. “I was just curious. I… Heard Raven talking to my uncle the other day and she mentions how you’re immortal. Apparently she stabbed you in the heart and you didn’t die. That sounds pretty immortal to me… Just saying,” She commented, hiding her face behind her cup.
“I remember that day,” Pyrrha muttered quietly.
Raven… Of course. Trust her to go around spreading stories about how I was supposedly immortal… And trust Yang to be so direct about it. I was actually a little grateful about that. She chose to confront what she was curious about instead of hiding from it.
“There’s an old expression that states that you should appear strong when you are weak and weak when you are strong,” I explained. “When I first fought Raven, I saw that I wasn’t strong enough to beat her, but I did have another option. I could trick her into believing she couldn’t beat me.”
“Right, so you tricked Raven into thinking she couldn’t kill you by not dying when she stabbed you in the heart?”
“She missed,” I replied. “When she stabbed me in the chest, she missed everything vital. My heart was over here at the time,” I said, pointing to the right side of my chest.
Yang eyed me skeptically, not that I could blame her. Being able to shift your internal organs sounded almost impossible… just like being immortal.
“I could show you if you want,” I offered.
Yang suddenly paled and Pyrrha let out a horrified gasp.
“I meant with your hand,” I continued, calming everyone down. “I’m not going to stab myself just to prove a point.”
“Right,” Yang muttered. “That makes more sense than what I was thinking… So how are we doing this?”
Getting up, I moved over to Yang’s chair and crouched down until I was at eye level with her. Taking her hand, I pressed against my chest.
“Hey now, your heart’s beating a little bit fast there.” Yang smiled slyly. “Don’t worry, I have that effect on g… What…” She paused before shifting her hand to the side. “Woah.”
“Believe me now?” I asked.
“Yep,” Yang nodded, taken aback. “This is pretty freaking cool… And a little gross. Is it only your heart or can you move other things as well?”
“It’s pretty much everything,” I explained, letting my heart shift back to its original spot. “But it is really uncomfortable, so I generally do it only when it’s completely necessary.”
Humming, Yang shifted her hand back over to where my heart. “It almost feels like its vibrating,” She muttered before she began to smirk. “Man, if this gets out, all the girls are gonna want to sit on your chest.”
I sighed and palmed my face. Out of all the… No, I should have expected that, this was Yang after all.
“Yang!” Pyrrha squeaked.
“What, too far?” Yang asked.
Hearing the sound of the front door click open, I stood up and glanced down the hallway, only to see another familiar redhead.
“Coal,” Thetis said, looking surprised. “What are you doing…” She trailed off as she caught sight of everyone else. “Hello everyone… There seems to be more since last time.” Hearing the shower upstairs, she raised an eyebrow. “A lot more.”
Getting up from her seat, Pyrrha made her way over to Thetis, pulling her into a tight hug. “It’s good to see you, mother,” She hummed before pulling back. “I’m sorry for dropping by so suddenly, but we were…”
“Oh hush, it’s no issue,” Thetis dismissed her. “Since there’s so many of you, I might need to make a quick stop at the shops to pick up a few extras. What do we need? Food, something to drink, contraceptives?”
Winter looked fairly unfazed while Yang choked on the remainder of her coffee.
“Mother!” Pyrrha squawked, her face turning bright red in embarrassment.
“Oh dear, it appears that I’ve misread the situation,” Thetis hummed, not looking the least bit sorry. “Pizza it is then. You’ll all be staying the night, right.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe that there’s enough room in your house, ma’am,” Winter remarked. “Thank you for the offer.”
“There’s a spare room with two extra beds,” Thetis replied. “And that couch you’re sitting on pulls out into a sleeper. That’s more than enough space for all of you.”
Looking down at the chair, Winter realized that Thetis was right. “I stand corrected.”
“That settles it then, you’ll all spend the night here.”
Somehow, I felt that no amount of arguing would be able to dissuade Thetis. It was better to just go with what she said.
…Breathe…
Laying in bed, I stared up at the ceiling as the day finally wound down to an end. “So… Back here again,” I hummed softly, doing my best to keep from waking anyone.
“Ah, yeah,” Pyrrha replied.
Pyrrha’s bed was far more spacious, unlike the makeshift bed we’d shared back at the mine, but, somehow, it felt more awkward than last time. It shouldn’t have, but it did. It was almost like the extra space was the issue.
Hearing the door to Pyrrha’s room creak open, we both turned to watch as a figure slowly snuck in the room, only to stub their toe on Pyrrha’s dresser.
“Shit,” Yang let out a quiet hiss of pain, hopping on one foot. “You’re both awake, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Pretty much,” I nodded.
“Okay, so the thing is, that sleeper couch is really uncomfortable and the material will mess up my hair and…” Yang sighed tiredly. “Man, when did I get so bad at lying? I know I’ve been a bit too much today, but the truth is… I’m worried about my sister and I’ve been trying to distract myself, only… I can’t exactly do that when I’m alone. Can I sleep here tonight?”
I sat up. “I’ll go take your place in the lounge.”
“Why?” Yang asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. “There’s more than enough room for everyone.”
Glancing over at Pyrrha who shrugged helplessly I turned back towards Yang. “Okay, just let me make a little room for you.”
Shifting to the side, I stopped once I was in the center of the bed and waited as Yang climbed in, taking my previous spot.
“Thanks,” Yang hummed, settling in.
Closing my eyes in an attempt to sleep, I opened them again when I felt Pyrrha scoot closer and place her hand on my chest.
“I’m just… Trying to get in a more comfortable position,” Pyrrha explained. “Good night Coal… Good night Yang.”
“Good night,” Yang and I intoned at the same time.
Snickering, Yang rolled over onto her side, her mood suddenly turning sombre. “Ruby should be safe, right? I mean, nothing’s happened in fifteen years, so Salem won’t just decide to target her now.”
“She’s got your uncle, your dad and Maria to look after her,” I reassured her. “And she’s also a pretty kick ass Huntress in training. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Yang.”
“Hm… You’re probably right,” Yang yawned, her eyes drooping tiredly. “I guess I’ll try and get a little sleep then.” Closing her eyes, she dozed off in a matter of seconds.
Glancing over at Pyrrha who had also fallen asleep with a content look on her face, I turned my gaze to the ceiling once more and closed my eyes. Attempting to will myself asleep.
…Breathe…
Letting out a gasp, Taiyang sat up in a cold sweat. He’d had that horrible nightmare again where his ex wife returned and Qrow left Yang in another Kingdom with some boy she’d just met.
Getting up, he quietly made his way into the hallway and peeked into Ruby’s room, still illuminated by her nightlight, finding her snuggled up in her blankets. Walking over, he leaned down and gave a quick peck to her forehead before heading out.
Looking over at Yang’s room, he peeked in through the door only to find that he couldn’t see anything inside.
No matter, he instinctively knew where everything was. Stepping around the various discarded items left on the floor, he stopped next to Yang’s bed and leaned down, giving a peck to her forehead, much like he had with Ruby.
“Good night my little firecracker.”
“Who’re you calling your little firecracker?!” A feminine voice that was clearly not Yang’s asked. “What’s this? Are you trying to make a move on me? You’re a few decades too late, my sex drive has long since dried up, sonny.”
The bedside lamp was switched on and Taiyang was greeted to the sight of Maria Calavera sitting in Yang’s bed, the blue light of her goggles flickering.
Stumbling backwards, he tripped over her stuff, knocking her cane to the floor causing it to unfold and stab him in the foot.
Feeling the pain welling up in his foot, he knew that there was only one person to blame for all of this.
“QROOOOOOOOOOW!”
Comments
SkulduggeryHaven
Haha, yeah. Taiyang is really going through it right now. Anyways, I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and really looking forward to getting to some of the later chapters that I have planned. Wishing you an awesome Christmas and a Happy New Year too, my dude.
Aeden Emrys
Poor Taiyang. Thanks for the chapter! Looking forward to reading much more in the new year! I wish you a Merry Christmas 🎄 and a Happy New Year 🎊!
SkulduggeryHaven
And thus begins Taiyang's popular phase with the... Older crowd.
James French
Pffft poor Taiyang
SkulduggeryHaven
Thanks, I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story.
Django_ti
Lol, true. Keep up the good work.
SkulduggeryHaven
They do, but I think it also depends on their ability to react to a situation. If something catches them by surprise outside of combat, they can still be hurt, like Sienna being stabbed by Adam when she didn't expect it, or Taiyang freaking out after kissing Maria goodnight.
SkulduggeryHaven
haha, yeah. It starts raining when they go to the beach, it must be Qrow's fault.
Django_ti
Don't hunters and huntresses have like passive aura protection so what happened to taiyang doesn't happen?
Joshua Swann
I imagine any minor inconvenience Tai goes through he just blames Qrow.
SkulduggeryHaven
Thanks, I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
SkulduggeryHaven
Lmao dude. You just gave me a flashback to the second dumb and dumber movie.
SmittyBoi
"Its pretty much just dust up there, ya know" Maria continues to torture Taiyang. "One might even say I'm so old my pussy is haunted"
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the update.
